Akvarell
by Sherlocked95
Summary: Follow up to 'Sparkling' and prior. Prompt fill for justanothernerdgirl who asked for: "maybe a gallery opening for Merlin? Arthur gets jealous at everyone paying so much attention to merlin?" It's Merlin's Big Breakthrough. He's the star of the show. The only problem? Everyone else knows it too.


"You're nervous."

Merlin meets his eyes briefly in the mirror before returning his gaze to the bright red bowtie around his neck. He fiddles with it, trying to straighten it up a bit.

"Of course I'm nervous," he mumbles.

Arthur smiles and puts a hand on his elbow, gently easing him around to face him before moving his hands to the bowtie, loosening and redoing it with nimble fingers. It looks a lot neater when he's finished.

"You shouldn't be," he assures his partner. "They'll adore you."

"What if they don't like my work? What if they don't like _me_?" Merlin worries, reaching up to fiddle with his bowtie.

Arthur catches his hand before he can ruin it. "They'll love your work and they'll be enchanted with you, Merlin. You know they will."

_Everyone_ adores Merlin. It's just one of those things that Arthur has grown used to. Merlin can make friends no matter where he goes; his personality is so warm, gentle and endearing that people can't help but be drawn to him.

"But what if I make a complete idiot of myself?" Merlin stresses. "Like trip over? Or spill champagne everywhere or...what if I accidentally insult some big art connoisseur? I can't do this."

"Merlin," Arthur says softly, stepping forward to rest his hands on his partner's shoulders, thumbs stroking his collarbone through the material of his white shirt. "You probably will make a huge arse of yourself. You'll probably trip or, yes, spill something. But everyone will find it amusing and they'll probably love you for it. You _can _do this, Merlin. I promise."

"But..."

"Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes," Arthur repeats.

Merlin looks puzzled but obliges.

"Now just imagine it," Arthur continues. "Imagine walking into that gallery and seeing all your work on display. _Your _work. All those paintings that you put so much time and effort and love into, finally up on display for people to admire. All those people will be there for your art and for you. This is _your_ night, Merlin. You're the star of the show. And your talent is finally being recognised. You're finally truly getting somewhere in the art world. Tonight is just the start."

Merlin smiles faintly, relaxing slightly as he imagines it.

"And I am so proud of you, love," Arthur adds. "I have complete and utter faith in you tonight and I'll be right there at your side, okay?"

Merlin opens his eyes to look at him. "Okay."

They both move forward at the same time, pressing their mouths together in a short, sweet kiss. Arthur draws back first, smiling.

"The cab will be here any minute."

Merlin nods and resumes getting ready. Arthur's already ready to go; he's wearing a tux he bought last year for a work function in London, a simple black and white ensemble and he's opted against a bowtie or normal tie, instead simply leaving the top two buttons of his shirt undone. Merlin, however, has gone for a black and white ensemble with a red cummerbund and bowtie. He's not wearing dress shoes, either; instead he's gone for his brown boots. It looks slightly odd and Arthur shakes his head; only Merlin.

A horn blares outside; the cab. Merlin starts slightly, startled, but after a quick once over in the mirror, he decides he's ready and they head out of his flat together.

_Akvarell _isn't exactly a well known art gallery, but it's definitely a great start and it's been promised that a lot of high grade art connoisseurs will be attending the display tonight, so there's a lot of potential for Merlin to make his big break or to at least achieve another, bigger display. Either way, this _is it_. The Moment, so to speak; this is Merlin's talent being recognised. Arthur's sure he's never felt so proud in his life.

The gallery is located thirty miles away in the city. It's cold out, the weather still crisp after Christmas, but it's gearing up for spring, at least. There's a hint of snow in the air and though Arthur hates the stuff, he knows for Merlin that if it does snow, it'll make tonight perfect.

They arrive at the gallery quarter of an hour before it opens for the event. It's larger than it appeared on the website (Merlin has been several times before, but tonight is Arthur's first time seeing it in person) and all modern; gleaming metal with large windows and clean, white, open interior. There's a security officer already placed on the doors since it's a ticket only event but he seems to recognise Merlin as he waves them straight in.

Soft jazz is playing quietly enough that the click of their shoes echo in the large space. There are a few people inside – employees – and a woman in her thirties with strawberry blonde curls cropped to her chin and gaudy gold eye shadow detaches herself from a younger brunette holding a tray of drinks to approach them, the hem of her floor length, simple black dress sweeping along the floor.

"Rosa," Merlin leans close to murmur. "Andras' PA."

_Andras_, a high grade connoisseur and the owner of this gallery and several others all over Europe...and just breaking out in the States, according to Merlin.

"Where is Andras?" he asks.

"If I know him well, still getting ready," Merlin grins.

Rosa reaches them then and she immediately gathers Merlin into a warm hug, kissing both of his cheeks. "I was worried you were going to be late," she reprimands, a faint accent caressing the words. "Are you excited?"

"Nervous," Merlin nods. "But excited."

"You'll be wonderful, darling," Rosa deftly plucks two glasses from a passing tray and hands them to the two men. "I must dash, but I'll see you soon. Let me know what you think of the exhibition."

"I'll be sure to," Merlin assures her warmly. "Thank you, Rosa."

She waves her hand in a _of course_ gesture, offers a blinding smile and hurries off to deal with two waiters who appear to be gearing up for a spat. Merlin takes a big gulp of champagne and Arthur follows suit but with a much smaller sip. It's crisp, delicious; the expensive stuff. Andras has really forked out for the best for this exhibition.

They're in the front area of the gallery; it's simple, with the bathrooms to the right, the reception desk and payment area to the left and several pieces of art on the walls that Arthur doesn't recognise but likes. He makes a note of the artist's name – he's guessing French from the surname – and follows Merlin through the narrow hallway to the exhibition.

It's exhilarating, seeing so many of Merlin's paintings on the walls. The selection is the best of his work and they're stunning, but Arthur can't help but look away to watch Merlin's face as he sees the result of all of his hard work and hope. His expression goes from nervous, to awed, to a blinding grin, genuine joy in his blue eyes, and Arthur leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"It's perfect," Merlin says quietly. "They've done it brilliantly."

They really have; Arthur's rather impressed. But he knows what everyone will focus on is the art. It really is good enough to draw the eye immediately and to keep the attention. He's always known that Merlin's talented...but seeing it like this now really hits home just _how_ amazing his partner is.

They peruse the first few paintings together. The first three are landscapes that Arthur realises is from the area Merlin grew up in as a child. He recognises a portrait of one of Merlin's friends, a stunning girl called Suzie, and a portrait of Gaius that really captures the wisdom in his face and the sharp humour in his blue eyes, the kindness in the gentle upwards curve of his mouth that not many people would pick up on.

But people start filtering through then and Rosa appears, grabbing Merlin's arm to snatch him away to prepare for a speech and to be introduced to some certain people and Arthur is left on his own.

Within half an hour, the place is full. Arthur's surrounded by people in tuxedos, suits and fancy dresses, all drinking champagne and munching on expensive food; all studying the art and from what Arthur can tell, a lot of their discussions are complimentary of Merlin's paintings, though riddled with terminology that baffles him a bit.

The general response is impressed and Arthur can't help but feel proud as he watches people gaze at the paintings with admiration. He's willing to bet a lot of those available for purchase will be sold by the end of the night. This really is it; the Big Break. He's grinning, full of pride and joy, when he rounds the corner.

And finds the portrait of him.

Merlin had told him which paintings would be on display; none of his more personal work is on display this time. He prefers to keep paintings of his mother or father or personal life private, for his eyes only. He'd expressed the same about his paintings of Arthur; they're intimate, for them both, so to have those on display would be strange. Last he'd heard, Andras was trying to convince Merlin otherwise.

Looks like he succeeded.

He steps closer, studying the painting. It's familiar and Arthur realizes that the original is of him _completely nude_. He remembers that night with a slight smile, how intimate and arousing it was to be painted naked by Merlin, and the sex afterwards was _fantastic_.

However, the one he's looking at must be a copy; he's wearing trousers, though rather tight, and the bulge in them is incredibly exaggerated. His muscles are a lot more defined than they are in reality too, his features a little _too_ handsome. It's still him, but it's like he's looking at Arthur 2.0.

He knows this is Merlin embarrassing him; part of his quiet but sharp humour. He can't help but laugh and shake his head.

Two of the five people studying the painting glance at him and clearly recognise him as the muse of the painting. Their eyes widen before they grin slightly in acknowledgement and Arthur feels his cheeks heat up.

"_Well_," one of the women to his right drawls. "I like this one."

Arthur's eyes widen in shock and he looks towards them, but neither of them appears to have noticed him.

"Mm," the dark haired one smiles, staring at the painting.

No, at the _bulge in the trousers _of Arthur in the painting.

Arthur wants the ground to open up and swallow him.

Damn Merlin. He knows his partner is going to be in hysterics when he hears about this. His plan to embarrass Arthur has definitely succeeded.

"The artist certainly knows what women like to see," the blonde remarks.

They share a flirty giggle and Arthur turns and walks away before he hears any crude comments about the painting version of him or, worse, about Merlin.

The only problem: he hears a lot more of conversations like that as he explores the exhibition. When he's looking at one of Merlin's landscapes, he listens in on two women discussing how _talented_ the artist is and what it would be like to sleep with someone as talented as Merlin. He overhears people talking about how amazing Merlin is, listens to two men discussing how sexy men who are good at art are. He walks away when they start talking about how good artists' fingers feel and comparing paint brushes to the size of Merlin's _package_.

He's looking at a portrait of Morgana when he hears a group of people discussing it, talking about how "brilliantly Merlin captures the shyness in those green eyes" and "the kindness in the swell of her lips", the femininity in the "fragile hands he's painted so beautifully". And Arthur has to laugh, because it's _Morgana_, the exact opposite of what they're saying, lovely as she is. It's ridiculous.

It only gets worse when Merlin is introduced and gives a speech. Even as he says that he owes all this to Arthur, that he's lucky enough to have someone as wonderful as his partner and that he'd never have got this far without him, even as they raise a toast with Merlin to Arthur, despite how overwhelmed with love and happiness he is at that moment, he's still a little tense.

Merlin's whisked away again to be introduced to some important people and Arthur accidentally overhears a group of people talking about how handsome and _sexy_ Merlin is and discussing in graphic detail various scenarios involving Merlin, themselves and paint in..._interesting_ body areas, and he has to walk away.

And then he finds another portrait of him.

It's small and tucked away, drawn away from the attention of the rest of the exhibition, yet it's surrounded by more people than any of the others. It's not for sale and it's not one he recognises. Arthur realises Merlin must have painted it from memory.

In it, he's looking with a soft smile, not quite out of the painting but his face is exposed; his eyes are soft, affectionate, his expression gentle, and it's...it's actually beautiful. Not himself; unlike the others, the subject of the painting isn't the focus, not for him or the others studying it anyway. What is the focus is that for Merlin, the subject _is _the only thing that matters; it's painted with genuine awe and absolute love for the subject. He's painted like he's the centre of the universe, like he's everything. Like he's everything to Merlin, the centre of _his _universe.

It takes his breath away and he tingles from head to toe just looking at it. At thinking of how much love is behind every stroke of paint. How much adoration went into painting the curve of his lips and the awe in painting his collarbones.

He hears people discussing it, all revolving around how the artist is obviously deeply and uncontrollably in love with the subject, with _Arthur_, and how romantic it is.

They notice him then and stare at him in interest and awe and this time, Arthur isn't embarrassed; instead, he smiles. No, he positively _beams_.

Any jealousy is long gone. He doesn't care if people are attracted to Merlin. He doesn't care about the people ogling Merlin's arse rather than the paintings. Because this painting proves just how much Merlin loves him.

And he knows then that someday he's going to marry Merlin.

* * *

**Prompts are now closed. However, if there is anything you'd really like to see, I'll be accepting prompts again for Merlin, Teen Wolf and possibly Sherlock in middle to late December, so feel free to send me a prompt when I'm accepting them again.**

**There will be a notice on my tumblr ( .com) when I'm open to prompts again.**

**However, I will most likely be adding to this series when inspiration for a cute, fluffy ficlet strikes, so it is far from over and there is plenty more still to come for the series, both prompt fills and other stuff.**

**Thank you to everyone who sent me prompts.**


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